The Crystal Prep Files

by FoxMcCloud7921

Chapter 21

“This looks mighty bad,” Applejack said as the two golems slowly marched towards them.

“I don’t wish to complain but I’m still feeling slightly drained from that last battle,” Rarity said. Now that Sunset thought about it, the whole trip was rather taxing on their powers.

“Do not concern yourselves,” Radiant said, stepping forward. “I’ll take care of these foul creatures.”

“By yourself?” Rainbow asked.

Radiant faintly smiled. “They are but a small nuisance to me.” She then spread out her arms and closed her eyes. “You all might want to stand back.” Everyone else did so immediately as the area around Radiant started to vibrate. “You’ve sworn an oath to protect your master…but I’m afraid it’s one you’ll have to break.”

The resulting shockwave was enough to make the entire castle rattle as the golems were sent flying into the opposite wall. Much to her surprise, the golems didn’t fall to pieces as easily as she thought, though pieces of them did break off. “The magic coursing through them is stronger than I thought,” she mused. “I suppose I was being too soft.”

“Man, I’m not one who gets freaked out easily but this woman freaks me out,” Indigo commented.

Radiant then rose up into the air and with a gesture of her arm a whip-like band of dark matter shot out and broke off the points of both lances. She then attacked attack, this time decapitating both golems before they finally crumbled to the ground.

“Yep, my point exactly,” Indigo said.

Radiant floated back to the ground and patted her gloved hands together. “There, see? No trouble at all.” Everyone stared at her. “What?”

“I can see you’ve mastered the dark arts well,” Sunset commented.

“Hardly, and there’s a big difference between dark magic and the dark arts,” Radiant replied, rolling her eyes slightly. “But enough of that, we must carry on.” The silver grates then lifted up, allowing them to continue on.

To no one’s surprise, there were more stairs to climb. “I can see the man getting quite a workout getting around his castle,” Rarity panted slightly.

“He probably teleports,” Sunny said. “I mean, it probably doesn’t take much right…right?”

Finally they reached a small circular room with only one door on the opposite end. “I can tell we’re getting closer because this room has a lot of dark magic present,” Radiant said.

Sunset looked around. “I don’t see any traps or anything…” She then went towards the door.

“Wait!” Radiant yelled. “You don’t know what’s behind-” But she was too late and Sunset opened the door as a white light engulfed her.

---

Sunset opened her eyes and looked around, realizing she was no longer in Sombra’s castle. In fact, she recognized the place very well, one she hadn’t stepped foot in for years. She was in Canterlot Palace.

She looked down and saw she was equine once again. “Was I teleported here?” she wondered. “No…this must be a trick, an illusion Sombra set up.”

“It’s no illusion Sunset.” That voice…could it be?

She quickly turned around and saw Princess Celestia standing before her. “P-Princess…” Sunset was at a loss of words and awkwardly tried to bow to show respect.

Celestia chuckled. “That won’t be necessary.” She then went up and enveloped Sunset in her wing. “I’ve missed you…”

Sunset could suddenly feel the emotions well up inside her as she gave her former teacher a hug. “I’ve so many things to tell you…but first I…I’m…!”

“I know,” Celestia said soothingly. “I’ve heard of the things you’ve done and I couldn’t be more proud.”

“Proud?” Sunset stepped back and stared at her. “How can you not be angry with me? After all I did?”

“I was never angry dear Sunset,” Celestia said. “I was sad that I had failed you, that I had failed to reach you and make you understand the true meanings of friendship, but it seemed you learned in other ways.”

Sunset sniffed slightly and smiled. “I think I have Twilight to thank for that.” She then frowned. “But I still have something to do. This is all in my head, isn’t it?”

“It depends on how you interpret it,” Celestia said simply. “I believe Sombra was trying to feed on your fears and put you in a situation where I was…hmm…disappointed and wanted you banished from Equestria forever.” She then smiled, a twinkle of humor in her eye. “But that doesn’t seem the case does it?”

“But…how?”

“Sombra thinks he knows you, but he doesn’t,” Celestia said. “He thought you still had doubts about yourself but in the end you were able to face yourself and put all your fears to rest.”

Sunset wasn’t sure what else to say. All of this was slightly overwhelming for her. “I’ll be completely honest…I almost don’t want to go back…”

“I know,” Celestia nodded. “But your friends need you, more than ever. This may all be in your head as you say, but I will always watch over you, and no borders can change that.”

Sunset nodded as a mist started to envelop the room. “I promise, whenever I find a way to get back to Equestria, I will come visit you.”

Celestia looked at her and Sunset saw there were tears in her eyes. “I will be looking forward to it…”

---

Sunset could hear people shouting in her as she was being shaken and suddenly she came back to reality. Everyone seemed to be staring right in front of her. “What…?”

“Oh thank goodness,” Fluttershy said. “You had us all worried.”

“What do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“You were standing there, staring out into space!” Pinkie said. “It must’ve been a really good dream cause you had a smile on your face!”

Sunset could feel herself blush slightly. “It’s…don’t worry, it was nothing.”

“As I was trying to warn you,” Radiant said somewhat impatiently. “Sombra had set up a trap that causes illusions inside your head. I can’t imagine what happened but-”

“It was good.”

“What?” Radiant asked.

“It was…a pleasant experience,” Sunset said. “I don’t know how to explain it but it just happened.”

“I see…” Radiant replied. “That may be the case for you but for anyone else it could be less pleasant memories. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.” She then raised her hand and the door started to glow a faint blue before disappearing. “Now it should be safe to cross.” Once they went through the door-

“Oh come on!” Rainbow yelled.

There were more stairs.

“You must not falter now, I can sense Sombra’s presence more than ever,” Radiant said. “You’re very close to the top…” She then seemed to hesitate. “But this is where I leave you now. Keep going and you will find the top, I promise.”

“Wait a minute, where are you-?” But before Sunset could finish her sentence, Radiant already disappeared.

“Well…I guess we don’t have much choice then,” Twilight said. “Let’s just hope Sombra doesn’t have anymore surprises for us.”

---

Sombra stood at the top of the castle, staring down at the world below him. It was almost strange, walking on two feet and having such a…different anatomy. But he would get used to it. He still had his power and now, he had himself a whole new Empire to rule. He then stared at the large pedestal which contained the large black crystal. Sombra had sensed a similar presence such as the Crystal Heart, but in many ways it was different.

“You think you’ve concealed yourself in the shadows, but you can’t hide from me,” he said suddenly. Radiant suddenly appeared behind him. He closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly as if in thought. “It’s been a long time Radiant…I see you’ve kept yourself busy…”

“You know why I’m here…” Radiant said.

“Hmm…I wonder about that,” Sombra said, turning around. “At first, you seemed convinced that you had to destroy me…but now…I’m sensing hesitation. After all this time, you still have feelings?”

“I knew you long before you were king,” Radiant said. “What you had to deal with in your lifetime was terrible and I wanted more than anything to change all that for you. But I remember the good times we had, even if they were few and far between. Everything I did, the good and the bad, it was all for you, because I knew the real you.”

“But the prophecy…”

“To hell with the prophecy!” Radiant snapped. “Something that was written on paper millennia ago does not determine what a person does!” Her gaze then softened. “Sombra…look at me now…I did the unimaginable. I, a crystal pony, was able to learn the ways of dark magic, and I even united the shadow tribes, your people, together. It’s not too late.”

Sombra frowned slightly as he turned away. “But it is…I’m a war criminal Radiant…Celestia would have me executed immediately.”

“To hell with her as well,” Radiant said. “I was by your side, which makes me just as guilty, and yet I was able to stay out of her grasp. And you’re right…I just don’t think I can go through with killing you…you may think its weakness but its love Sombra…I never truly stopped believing in you. Please Sombra…you can take your place as leader of the Shadow Ponies…and we can live a life that we always wanted.”

“Radiant…” He then turned around again and went up to her slowly. He smiled warmly as he put his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him in surprise, feeling as if she was seeing Sombra’s true self. He stroked her cheek gently before giving her a hug. “There’s nothing more I cherish than being by your side…” He then looked at the pedestal one last time. “Except one thing…”

Radiant’s eyes went wide as she felt something stab through her chest, a painful and cold feeling at the same time. “Power is not something I can give up so easily,” Sombra said almost regretfully. “I hope one day you can forgive me, but I would prefer you not to witness me become even worse than I am now.”

Radiant fell to her knees as she bled out slowly. She looked up to Sombra as her sight started to fade. Her breaths came out quick and short as she reached out a hand, though now she wasn’t sure it was whether to grab onto him or attack him. She fell to her side and could only look up as Sombra walked away from her. There was no anger in her last moments, only sadness and regret.

Sombra stopped for a moment as he realized something was wrong. He felt Radiant’s presence but despite her lying on the ground, it was not diminishing at all. He turned around and shielded himself just in time as a spell struck him.

Radiant’s dying body disappeared and she now appeared in the night sky before him. Sombra couldn’t help but allow himself a small smirk. “I see I’m not the only one being deceitful tonight…”

Radiant attacked relentlessly, anger now apparent in her attacks, but Sombra managed to dodge and shield when he could. “Come now my dear, you didn’t actually think I would just turn this all away on a dime did you?” he taunted. “I did mean what I said but I had to pick one over the other.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Radiant said. “You’ve made your choice, and now I’ve made mine.”

Sombra did give her some credit: her skills had improved much since the last time they met. But now it was time to take the offensive. He started attacking with such composure but at the same time had a ferociousness that seemed to overwhelm her. Now Radiant was on the defense and her energy was declining quickly.

“You may have won the hearts of my people,” Sombra said. “But you’ll never surpass me.” The sudden shockwave broke through Radiant’s shield like glass and sent her flying towards the ground where she hit her head and felt her vision become dizzy.

She saw him approach slowly and tried to fire off another spell but he was able to deflect it with ease. “Do not fear, I am not going to kill you,” Sombra said. “At least not yet. The Elements of Harmony are obviously impressed with your skill. However…” He then grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. “When they see the great mage that you are reduced to nothing, that my dear is truly when they’ll realize the power that they are dealing with…”

---

“We’re almost there…” Sunset said as they continued up the large flight of steps.

“Well…look at this way Indigo,” Lemon said. “Compared to this…two-a-days will be a piece of cake…”

Indigo laughed. “Yeah…you got that right…so…you gonna explain about that phone call?”

“You’re probably going to laugh but…remember when we were in the car and that song came on?”

“What about it?”

“Well…if music tends to bring out positive emotions in people…”

“Wait a minute…” Twilight suddenly stopped and looked at Lemon. “Are you saying with the power of music, we can somehow break those people out of their trance?”

“I guess…I mean its kind of a long shot…”

“No…I think you’re on to something,” Twilight said. “There’s obviously a connection between everything that’s taking place.”

“Okay, this is the first time we’re hearing about this,” Sunset said, looking quizzically at Twilight.

“Sorry…I didn’t realize how important it could be.”

“So who did you call?” Sunny asked.

“Duh,” Pinkie said. “There’s only one student we know with the bass capabilities of saving the world!”

---

“Shit,” Vinyl cursed.

Of all the times it had to happen, her speakers weren’t producing any sound. She sighed deeply as she went back to look at the wiring, hoping she wouldn’t have to replace anything.

---

The girls finally reached the peak, which led into a long corridor. What was different here was the layout of the room. Everything consisted of white blocks and they didn’t look stable. “So…what is this, we just keep walking right?” Rainbow asked.

“I wonder…” Sunset thought. “Does anyone have something small, like a pen or something?”

“Here,” Sugarcoat said, giving her an empty magazine. Sunset tossed the magazine into the middle of the walkway and suddenly lasers shot out of the wall.

“Oh good, glad to see the security system is working well,” Sour grumbled.

“We’re not actually going to cross this are we?” Applejack asked. “Ah really don’t want to become barbeque.”

“I don’t even think we could manage a sprint, especially since it’s a long distance,” Fluttershy said.

“Maybe we don’t have to,” Sunset said. “Rarity, you can make a shield right?”

“Why yes, but I’m not sure how long I can hold it,” Rarity replied.

Sunny then went over and took her hand. “Here…do you feel anything?”

“Oh my…that actually kind of tickles…” Rarity said.

“I’m giving her some of my power,” Sunny said. “Look, I’m not trying to sell us short but…you guys are apparently a big deal and need to be at one hundred percent. We’re just the backups.”

“That’s not true,” Twilight said. “We wouldn’t even be here without your guys’ help so don’t even say you five aren’t important right now.”

“Then I’ll help Rarity out too,” Sugarcoat said as she took Sunny’s other hand. The rest of them joined hands.

“Oh yes, I think we can pull this off now,” Rarity said as a large diamond-shaped shield surrounded them. “Let us be off then.”

They all walked as one as the room erupted in a flurry of light. The attacks were relentless but the shield held steady the entire time until they reached the end. “Hey, I can feel wind just up ahead!” Rainbow said.

“Then let’s hurry,” Sunset said as they made their way towards the large door. It took all of them to open it and once they went through they were greeted with a surprising sight.

---

They had reached the top, no doubt about it, but instead of the night sky, they were greeted by a sunrise, which was background to a large group of mountains in the distance. When they looked out, they saw what looked like a sprawling city covered in snow. But this wasn’t Canterlot.

It was oddly quiet save for the sound of the wind, but there was no doubt that the sights were breathtaking. Only two people were with them, about fifty yards in front of them. One was standing with their back towards them, the other lying crumpled on the ground.

“Radiant!” Sunset and the others suddenly ran over to her. Sunset lifted her up slightly and was relieved to see she was still breathing.

Radiant opened her eyes slightly and smiled sadly at them. “I truly thought I could fix this on my own…but I was wrong. I’m so sorry…”

“What you see now is the beginning of your demise.” Sombra had turned around to face them. “You think because you carry the Elements of Harmony that you’re invincible but you’re horribly mistaken. My dear Radiant Hope could have finished you all with merely a fraction of her power no doubt, but she was no match for me. I’m now offering you this one and only chance of surrender and not only will I spare you but I will make sure you all live a life most splendidly.”

“No way José!” Pinkie yelled.

“Yeah right, like we’re going to give up to a big creep like you!” Rainbow said.

“You’re just a big bully that makes others do your bidding!” Fluttershy said.

“We’re not letting you take over this world!” Twilight said.

“Or any world for that matter,” Sunset said. “Your return is going to be short-lived Sombra.”

Sombra laughed. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t cower so easily…but really, twelve against one? That hardly seems fair doesn’t it? Luckily I have a way of evening the odds…”

Suddenly, Sunny and the others girls from Crystal Prep were trapped inside a large bubble. Even when they tried to bash it down, the bubble wouldn’t give. “There, that works much better. You may not be the same Elements that I met before but I will still relish the feeling of enacting my revenge.”

“If there’s one thing Ah know, it’s this,” Applejack said. “Never bet against the underdog!”

“Hmm…we’ll see about that.” Sombra opened his arms invitingly. “Come now Elements of Harmony, let us settle this once and for all.”

Author's Note:

We are so close people! This next chapter will be the final chapter I promise! It's been a long journey (at least for me) so I ask you guys hold out just a little bit longer!

Comments

[BenRG]

I'm not sure if Radiant is entirely trustworthy. She's using dark magic and seems to be driven by aggressive and hateful emotions. Something like that can only cause harm to her in the long term; she may be a greater threat than Sombra is!

My suspicions about her intentions are particularly heightened by what she did to that arch that gave Sunset a morale boost. It raises questions about what is in charge at Crystal Prep and what it is trying to do.

[MrAskAPirate]

... So now can we play the boss music?

[EchoWing]

Wow. You've got me on the edge of my seat, that's certain.

[OmniFox]

The final battle begins!

[Xanderfox]

I highly doubt Celestia could bring herself to execute Sombra, as her feelings towards him are likely much more complicated now. Though Radiant wouldn't know that Celestia fell in love with a version of him, and killing any Sombra would feel like killing someone she loves. Though yes again what Radiant thinks Celestia will do doesn't necessarily reflect what she actually would do.

[InkyPaper]

Sunset nodded as a mist started to envelop the room. “I promise, whenever I find a way to get back to Equestria, I will come visit you.”

Celestia looked at her and Sunset saw there were tears in her eyes. “I will be looking forward to it…”

Awwwwww I'm soft